Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro re-elected for another 6 year

Venezuela’s President and leftist leader, Nicolás Maduro has won re-election for another six year term. National Electoral Council chief, Tibisay Lucena said with more than 90 per cent votes counted, Maduro, got 67.7 percent while his closest challenger Henri Falcon, secured 21.2 per cent.

The Election Council said, turn out in Sunday’s election was just 46.1 per cent.

Speaking to his supporters outside his Presidential palace, President Maduro said the opposition underestimated him.

Demanding for new elections in the country, Opposition leader Falcon said they do not recognise the present electoral process as valid.

Meanwhile,the United States, European Union and several of Venezuela’s Latin American neighbours said they would not recognize the results of the election, saying the conditions did not exist for a free and fair poll.

In a tweet, ahead of the vote, the US mission to the United Nations termed the election process an insult to democracy.

The elections were supposed to be held in December 2018, but the National Constituent Assembly advanced it.

Reeling from a fifth year of recession, falling oil production and U.S. sanctions, Venezuela is seeing growing levels of malnutrition and hyperinflation, and mass emigration.